Missing persons cases becoming a bigger priority in El Paso County

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office has revamped the way it tackles missing and runaway cases, and one tool in particular is showingsuccessful results.

Missing and runaway cases are taking a higher priority than they did in the past, according to the office.

“When Sheriff (Bill) Elder took office in January 2015, he felt the missing persons and runaway cases were not getting the due attention that they deserved,” Director of Information Jacqueline Kirby said. “So we’ve kind of overhauled that whole process.”

Kirby said every case, from cases dating back to 1982, to new cases, get assigned to a detective. The detectives meet daily to discuss leads and progress.

“Unless we have physical evidence to prove that that individual is no longer alive, they are still considered a missing person, and we will treat it as such, with the same priority as someone who’s been missing for two days or two hours,” Kirby said.

One tool helping the office is social media. Kirby said they are using it to post information about missing people. This week, two cases were resolved thanks to tips the office received, after they were posted on Facebook.

“It is the most instantaneous way to get information out,” Kirby said. “We can be communicating with the public and following up on the leads we’re getting from the public as we’re getting them in.”